Luoyang

Luoyang with a history
of nearly 5,000 years is located in
the western part of Henan Province
and to the south of the middle reaches
of the Yellow River. It has a population
of 800,000 in the city proper.
The ancient city of Luoyang is one
of the seven ancient capitals of China
and is included in a list of famous
historical and cultural cities of
China. Archaeologists have recently
confirmed that Luoyang was the capital
during the reign of 96 emperors in
13 dynasties over a period of 1,529years.
The layout of Luoyang during the Xia
(21th -16th century B.C.), Shang (16
th-11th Century B.C.), Zhou (11th
century -256 B.C.), Han-Wei (206B.C.-220A.D.),
and Sui-Tang dynasties (581-907 A.D.),
displayed in Luoyang Municipal Museum,
is known as "Five capitals Assembling
in Luoyang". Today there are
six major historical and cultural
sites here under state protection.
The Longmen Grottoes are one of the
three major treasure houses of stone
carving in China. The Baima Temple
(White Horse Temple) was the first
Buddhist temple established by the
government after Buddhism started
to spread in China. The "Forest
of Guan Yu" is one of the three
major memorial temples of Lord Guan.
Mount Mangshan in the north suburbs
is the site of China's largest ancient
tomb group that consists mainly of
imperial mausoleums, the oldest dating
back to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

Luoyang boasts beautiful
natural scenery, being surrounded
by the Yellow River, the scenic Xiaolangdi
Reservoir and the tomb of Emperor
Guangwu of the Han Dynasty (206B.C.-220A.D.)
to the north; Baiyun state Forest
park and a limestone cave in the Jiguan
Mountain that is called "the
First Cave in North China" to
the south; Songshan Mountain, one
of the five sacred Mountains, and
the shaolin Monastery to the east.
The world-renowned Luoyang peony has
been selected as the flower of the
city.